Melaka Polls: Azman Banks On TVET To Curb Paya Rumput Youth Migration

MELAKA, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and skills development has been identified as a key strategy to improve living standards and stem the migration of Indian youth from the Paya Rumput state constituency.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Paya Rumput state seat Datuk Azman Abidin said limited opportunities for skilled employment and inadequate incomes remained major challenges for local youth, despite the presence of numerous small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the constituency.

To address these challenges, he said he planned to leverage Melaka's status as a TVET Centre of Excellence to equip local youth with the skills required by high-value industries.

“Among the issues facing the Indian community, particularly local youth, is the lack of job opportunities. We must look at this in the context of Paya Rumput, an industrial area located in the heart of Melaka city.

“We have many SMEs and industrial areas here, but job opportunities remain limited and incomes inadequate. One possible solution is to strengthen skills training,” he told reporters after an engagement session with members of the Indian community at the Dewi Sri Maha Mariamman Temple (Kutharai Kovil) in Cheng here.

Azman said enhancing skills development was essential to long-term efforts to discourage young people from moving to other states in search of employment.

Addressing concerns raised at the grassroots level, he said cost-of-living pressures in Paya Rumput affected not only Indian residents living in different parts of the constituency but also other communities.

“The Indian community in Paya Rumput is spread across the constituency rather than concentrated in one area. However, they face the same challenges as the Malay community here. We need a holistic approach to address these issues and improve their living standards, beginning with employment opportunities.

“We need to create jobs that provide sufficient incomes for people to make a living in Paya Rumput. As a semi-urban area, it also faces issues such as urban poverty, which must be addressed,” he added.

The Paya Rumput state seat will see a three-cornered contest in the 16th Melaka State Election involving Azman, Perikatan Nasional's Rafie Ahmad and Parti Bersama Malaysia’s Abdul Rashid Abu Bakar.

Polling is on Nov 14, with early voting set for Nov 10.

For updates on the state election, visit https://election.bernama.com/prn/melaka/2026/.

--BERNAMA